


A monstrous weekend

by Alexis_universe



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Gargoyle, Werewolf-Vampire hybrid, Witch - Freeform, angel - Freeform, halloween 2016, imp, jack o' lantern, monster au, water elemental
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-08-19 09:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8199626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexis_universe/pseuds/Alexis_universe
Summary: Steven, the half monster member of the Crystal Gems, invites his entire family to a weekend in the woods with his Best friend, Connie Maheswaran and her family.





	1. A (not quite) dark night

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the monster AU of telsonknife.tumblr.com

_It was a dark night at Beach city. The crescent moon cast a dim light over its famous namesake through the clouds, tinging the small town with a faint purple color. The entire peninsula where the town was built was covered under a blanket of calm and soothing shadows._

_Except for the ominous temple carved into the small mountain at the end of the peninsula._

_It depicted a sitting woman with four pairs of arms –some of them fell apart due the inclemency of time– two pairs were held out to the air, while the other two cradled a small building on its owner's lap. A pair of faces were carved on its head, One gazed at the horizon while the other looked at the beach in front of it._

_There were rumors, centuries ago, that said that this unholy temple was the home of demons and monsters, who hunted down their own kin shrouded by the night._

_And up to this day... One wouldn't believe that those rumors were actually truths._

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Two figures were talking inside of the temple, in a room best described as a witch's lair.

Old books were carefully arranged in Mahogany bookshelves, swords and other instruments were hung on a wall. Vials and matrasses with colorful liquid were placed on wooden tables and closets full of ingredients were scattered around the room, which was lightened by several blue, glowing crystals.

"Is it ready now, Pearl?" A Tiny devil sat on a wooden table as he asked his caretaker.

"I Guess so, Steven." A pale witch said next to a boiling cauldron. "But I think that you might want to wait until the potion cools down a bit."

The imp jumped down from his seat before walking next to the magician. 

He was a stocky boy, barely reaching the 1.65 meters of height. He was wearing a pink, long sleeved shirt with a gray, formal vest over it. He also wore a pair of teared up denim jeans and a pair of pink flip-flops while a pitch black cape draped over his small shoulders, fastened to his neck with a star-shaped pin made of gold and a decorative golden rope. He would look like a human if it weren't for the pair of tiny, ebony horns that emerged from his black curls of hair, the pointy ears framing his round and soft face, his sharp teeth and claw-like nails, and the black, lion-like tail that popped out of his lower back.

"Maybe you could use magic to cool it down." Steven suggested as he gazed into the steaming potion.

The witch approached him. She was a very thin woman, reaching the 1.80 meters of height easily. She was wearing a black, lycra shirt with elbow-lenght sleeves and high collar; decorated with a Golden star on her chest and a teal line around the collar. A teal-colored pareo secured by a black leather belt hung over her waist over a pair of gray pants that reached at her calves.  
A pair of big pointy boots with pink points and heels covered her feet. Her pale face featured a long pointy nose, a single white fang that peeked through her lips, a pair of huge blue eyes and a large, oval-shaped white pearl embedded into her forehead; all framed by short, peach-colored hair.

"No, Steven." Pearl said, looking at him gently before pulling him away from the large pot. "Using magic to cool the beverage can alter its intended purpose, and we don't want Garnet to burst into flames."

"Awwww..." Steven whined as Pearl placed him away from the cauldron.

The woman giggled before opening the wooden door leading to the main building.

"Maybe you could call Connie and tell her that I Finished Garnet's sunscreen." The blue eyed witch suggested.

"Yeah! I should tell her the news!" The boy said before leaving the witch's lab.

Once he was inside of his house, Steven walked into his bedroom before pulling out his phone from his pants and dialing Connie's number. His tail was wagging happily, like a dog's.

He heard a familiar voice a pair of beeps later.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Connie!" Steven saluted.

"Steven?" She said. "Did you finished that stuff?"

"Yup." He said grinning. "Almost everything's ready for tomorrow's trip with your parents."

"I'm glad that you are." Connie released a cute yawn into the speaker. "I spent all my day packing enough food for the gems with mom. She even managed to get a couple of blood packages from the hospital for Garnet." 

"How she did that?" The demon asked.

"I don't know." The girl said. "I guess that she either politely asked for them, or waited until no one was looking to steal them."

Steven giggled at the image of Dr. Maheswaran carefully sneaking into the Blood Bank of Delmarva's general Hospital like a ninja.

"I told her that it was unnecessary, since the gems don't eat humans, and that Amethyst would literally have anything for a snack." Connie said. "But she told me that she wouldn't take any risks."

"Oh, I understand." Steven said as he toyed with his tail. "I wouldn't like to see a hungry Garnet either."

"Yeah... That would be a really terrifying sight." The girl said. "But anyway, we'll be picking you guys up tomorrow by 3:00 PM, So make sure that everyone is at your dad's carwash by then."

"Don't worry!" He grinned. "I went to the barn this evening, and asked Peridot and Lapis if they wanted to go with us and your family to a small lake house near the woods to spend a weekend away from job." He sat on the edge of his bed. "They said that it could be interesting and said yes."

"Very well then." Connie said before yawning again. "I have to go, Steven. Tomorrow's gonna be an important day."

Steven giggled again. "Good night, Connie"

"Good night, Steven." She said before hanging up.

The demon placed his phone on his nightstand before standing up to change into his striped pajamas.

After dressing up again, Steven laid on his bed, ready to fall into the clutches of sleep.

"There's nothing to worry about, Steven." The boy told to himself. "You're just going to have a nice weekend in the woods with Connie and her parents. Of course that the gems are gonna be around, but that's okay, you count on Garnet to explain them how fusion works."

He let out a tired yawn before snuggling inside his bed's sheets.

"That can wait until tomorrow." He said before closing his eyes and drifting away into sleep.


	2. Getting ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't edited the last part of the chapter, so tell me if I made a mistake in there.

Steven woke up the next morning at nine (since his powers awoke, Steven's sleep schedule changed a bit, allowing him to be awake until 3:00 AM and sleep a couple of hours until the next day, rising from his bed fresh as a baby).

He took a shower and proceeded to dress up in his usual attire, after polishing the pink gem resting on his navel and the pair of horns on his head.

After he secured his cape on its place, the wooden door of the temple opened with a sticky sound.

A small, purple Gargoyle stepped out of the door, She was a little bit taller than Steven and like him, she was chubby, however, she looked far more feral than him. She wore a black crop-top under a worn out gray vest with purple edges, a pair of worn out denim shorts with a black leather belt, and a pair of black leggings with gray stars on the knees underneath them. The cuffs of the leggings were tore up by the monster's purple claws. The back of her attire was tored up even further, as a pair of powerful, purple wings bursted through it. Large scales of different tones of purple were scattered across her forearms, appearing to be spikes for combat. Her tail was large and heavy, resembling that of a crocodile's. Her sharp claws were actually her fingers. Her teeth were uneven and sharper than his own without taking her huge fangs in context. Her pointy ears were obscured by her long, lavender hair were a pair of long horns emerged from, one of them was broken in half, probably during a fight against corrupted creatures or earth monsters. Her left eye was covered by her mane, but the other one seemed to glow in the dark with a reptilian-like pupil.

"Hi, Amethyst!" The boy said happily.

"Hey, Steven!" The monster said smiling. "Why you're up so early?"

"I dunno." He said as he brushed his curls. "I guess I wanted to be ready for the trip with Connie and her family today."

"Heh, fair enough." Amethyst said as she walked towards the fridge, looking for something to eat.

Steven continued with his own business while Amethyst rummaged through the fridge, when he reminded himself of the conversation he had with Connie last night.

"Amethyst?"

"Yeah, dude?" She asked as she pulled out some leftovers from last night's dinner: A cherry pie.

"Could you do me a favor?" He said as he descended into the living room.

"Sure." She said as she sliced a portion and served it on a plate, before shoving the rest of the pie into her mouth. "Whath ith it?"

"Could you go to the barn and tell Peridot and Lapis that we're leaving by 3:00?" The demon asked politely. "I'd love go myself, But there's something I need to talk about with Garnet."

The purple woman swallowed up her snack before answering.

"Does that talk has something to do with Connie or something like that?"

A flustered blush appeared on Steven's face.

"Umm.... Yes?"

"Hehe." The gargoyle came closer to the boy to ruffle the hair between his horns. "S'okay dude. I'll go tell them for you." 

"T-Thanks." 

"You're welcome." Amethyst said as she walked towards the portal –a crystal pad with swirling darkness inside of it, covered by a snow white pentagram with runic inscriptions over it.

"See ya later!" She smiled at him before the darkness that pooled inside of the crystal emerged from it, engulfing her form and leaving a silhouette of purple light that vanished into the ground along with the darkness.

Being left alone, Steven let out a sigh, deciding to knock on the Gray star on the wooden door of the temple.

"Garnet?" He said "Can I come in?."

A small moment passed before two small gemstones on the door's star lit up, and a magenta colored line crossed the door vertically, unlocking it and leaving it ajar.

Steven took this as a permission to enter into her sanctum.

The young demon entered the dark room carefully when the door closed behind him.

He saw a trio of glowing eyes open in the darkness of the room, looking at him half-liddedly. The right one shone with an intense scarlet, the left one with a cold cobalt blue, and the one between them –Just in the middle of her forehead– a dark magenta. The cat-like pupil of the scarlet eye was completely white, the cobalt's was black, while the magenta's was black with a white rim. 

"Hey, Garnet!" The boy said, her eyes in the dark didn't unnerved him at all.

"Hello, Steven." The owner of the eyes said with a soothing voice tone.

Orange crystals slowly enlightened the medium sized room, revealing its insides: Giant crystalline roots surged from the walls of the circular room as they made their way to the ground. No furniture was in sight and bubbled gemstones littered the dome of the ceiling, which was made of tangled up roots.

"What're you doing?" He asked.

"I'm meditating." She said, sitting in front of a small pond of lava in the lotus position with her hands placed at her navel.

"I see..."

Garnet closed her eyes again and took a deep breath while Steven watched her. He took this meditation exercises with her once as Stevonnie, so he knew that Ruby and Sapphire were talking to each other inside of her, discussing about personal stuff.

So, he decided to wait until she finished her meditation session to talk with her.

He sat in front of her in the same position, wondering if doing the exercise alone could be harmful for one's mind. He wandered around the question for a while before setting himself to look at Garnet's peaceful figure.

As a fusion, Garnet's body was a combination Ruby and Sapphire's, and so was her clothing: She wore a ragged, botton-up white shirt, exposing her burgundy, scarred midriff, its sleeves were torn down but their cuffs were still on her scarred arms somehow, In any case, they had a big, bolt-shaped cufflink on each of them. She wore a pair of black, fingerless gloves on her hands, where a pair of dark-red gemstones rested on her palms. A pair of worn out brown slacks –secured by a black leather belt with a golden buckle– concealed her toned thighs from the outside world; Her exposed calves, however, were half-wrapped in white bandages. Her feet –that were more hind legs than human feet, befitting the lycanthropy that Ruby poured upon her– were covered by magenta fur, and were half covered by a pair of black ankle boots (like the ones the MMA fighters wear) with purple star on each of them. A black cape covered her back, its purple lining contrasted with the dark burgundy of her skin; A big magenta star decorated its collar's left side, a golden rope passed right through its center, loosely holding the long cloth in its place. Her hair was shaped like a cube with a red bandana holding it on its place; A pair of fluffy, wolf ears protruded from it. Plump lips hid her sharp teeth, with the exception of the pair of vampiric fangs (courtesy of Sapphire) that peeked out of them. Her three eyes had black scleras, highlighting the strange colors of them. A scar ran vertically across her cobalt eye.

Steven played with his tail in silence for five minutes until he decided to look at the bubbles of the ceiling.

Hundreds of them littered the ceiling, some of them where blue, others yellow and several others had a red or pink tincture. However, every single one of them contained the gemstone of a incoherent monster; corrupted by the Diamonds in a last effort to end the rebellion against the Underworld a long time ago.

Everytime that Steven looked at the bubbles, he wondered if he will be able to restore them back to normal.

"Is something bothering you, Steven?" Garnet said after finishing her ritual.

"Huh?" Steven said as he looked up at Garnet, who looked at him with comprehensive eyes. "Oh, no, I just was wondering if maybe the next time, I could find a way to restore them." He pointed at the bubbles.

"I'm sure that you'll heal them eventually. Remember that Rome wasn't built in one day." She said reassuringly. "But we know that you didn't get into my room just to talk about the bubbles."

Steven remembered the topic that he wanted to discuss with her.

"Oh, right." He said blushing.

"What'd you need to discuss with me, Steven?" The monster asked.

"Well..." He said nervously. "Remember that trip to the woods that we're going to make today with the Maheswarans?"

Garnet nodded; her eyes looked curiously at him.

"Well... Since Connie's parents are gonna be with us for an entire weekend." Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead. "I, umm... wondered if you guys could talk to them about gem stuff?"

"You could've asked that to Pearl." She said. "You know how giddy she gets when she explains gem stuff to other people."

"Actually, I asked her last night when she was making more sunscreen for you." Steven said.

"So what I'm gonna tell em' exactly?" She smirked as she raised her left eyebrow.

"Uh...." He froze up for a second before reacting again. "I want you to explain them what's fusion!" He said rapidly.

There was a small silence in the room.

"I-I mean... Connie and I have been wanting to introduce her parents to gem stuff for a while." He scratched his neck awkwardly. "And we thought that maybe we could use the trip to do so."

"And you want them to meet Stevonnie, aren't you?" Garnet said smirking.

"Yeeess?" He said nervously as he shrinked into his shoulders.

Garnet let out a chuckle before pressing her gloved hand over the half-demon's head to ruffle his hair.

"Don't worry, Steven." She said gently. "I'll teach the Maheswarans everything about fusion."

"Thanks..."

"You don't have any other thing you have to tell me?" She asked.

"Oh, right." He said, a little bit more relieved. "Connie told me that we're leaving at three."

"Anything else?"

"Well... I believe that Connie's mom got you some blood from the hospital."

Garnet gave him an amused hum.

"That'll work."

Steven gave her a smile before walking back to the door.

He was about to ask Garnet to open up for him when the door activated, opening slightly.

"Thanks Garnet!" He said one last time before closing the door.

Garnet sat down in front of the lava pond again.

"You're welcome."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Am I doing this well?


	3. Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven waits until three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloween may had ended, but my inspiration isn't

After his small chat with Garnet, Steven returned to the building and called Connie again.

The phone beeped a pair of times before the girl answered.

"Hello?" She said.

"Good morning, Connie!" Steven said cheerfully, his tail moved once again like a dog's.

"Good morning too, Steven." She said. "It's everything set over there?"

"Yup." He said. "I even made a Strawberry cake for your parents."

"Really?" She asked. "When did you baked it?"

"I made it yesterday." He said. "I figured that it would be rude if I didn't brought anything with your parents."

"Where did you hid it?" Connie asked, conscious of Amethyst's voracious appetite.

"In a fridge inside Dad's carwash." He said. "You think they're gonna like it?"

"Don't worry." She said giggling. "They'll love it as long its made with organic ingredients."

Steven hummed thoughtfully into the speaker.

"The strawberries from the Strawberry Battlefields are organic enough?"

The question made Connie giggle again.

"I guess they are." Connie said as her laughter died away. "But changing the subject, Did you asked the gems about that stuff?"

"Uh-huh." Steven affirmed. "In fact, I called you just because of that."

"What did they said!?" She asked a little bit quickly.

"Well... Pearl said yesterday that she would explain some stuff." Steven said. ”She never told me what stuff she was going to explain them, though."

"Why Didn't you told me that last night?" The girl asked him.

"Umm.... I kinda wanted to tell you everything in the morning." He confessed. "I knew that you're not used to stay awake that late. Also, Sorry for waking you up last night."

"Aww... Don't worry about that, Steven." She said, Touched by his concern "I always enjoy listening your voice."

The Boy blushed intensely at the comment.

"I also like hearing your voice." He said.

He was sure that Connie was also blushing from the other side of the line.

"A-And what about Garnet?" Connie asked nervously, trying to change the subject quickly.

"We can count on her." He said. 

"That's great!" She said "If everything goes accord with the plan, We might show Stevonnie to my parents on Sunday's morning!"

Steven was about to say something else when he heard a faint voice coming out of the speaker.

"Coming!" Connie said, probably to her mom. "Sorry, Steven. I need to help mom pack up."

"Nah, it's okay." The young demon said. "Go help your mom."

"Thanks, Steven." She said. "See you at three!"

"See you at three!"

The two of them hung up at the same time.

"Okay." Steven said to himself as he lowered his phone into his nightstand. "What should I do until three?"

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After his conversation with Connie, Steven settled to do some chores to kill time (not before calling his dad to notify him about the departure time).

He finished his duties and double checked his own baggage when his alarm clock marked one o'clock.

He went to the kitchen and was about to have the remaining slice of pie for breakfast, when the temple's door opened, a teal line bisecting it perfectly as it opened silently.

Pearl stepped out of the door, wearing a worn out witch hat decorated with a pink rose and a black cape made of crow feathers over her clothing. The cape was secured by silver rings and decorated with a Silver-blue star on its collar's left side and a bird skull on the right side.

She looked around the clean house and noticed Steven sitting on the kitchen's counter, about to eat his breakfast.

He heard her footsteps as the witch stepped on the wooden floorboards of the house.

"Hi, Pearl!" He said, ignoring the piece of pie momentarily. "Are you ready for today?"

"I am!" Pearl said. "I stored some weapons in my gem in case a gem monster from the woods wants to attack us, along with several potions and barrier charms to fend earth monsters away from the immediate area we're going to be in."

"That's great!" He said as he ate a piece of the pie slice, swallowing before continuing with the conversation. "But, I was asking you if you were ready to explain gem stuff to the Maheswarans."

The witch let out a small sigh.

"I know that I Promised, Steven." She said. "But are you really sure you want me to tell them about gem stuff?"

"You could tell them the basics." The demon said cheerfully. "That you are creatures from another dimension and that you fought a war against your own kind to safe the planet from being destroyed by them."

"Are you suggesting to tell them a summary?" She said.

"I'm just suggesting to skip the bad, gory parts and skip to the glorious, independence from the Underworld." He took a bite of the pie, swallowing it before continuing. "Y'know, the 'Steven' version."

"Steven..." She said, using her motherly tone with him.

"C'mon, Pearl." The young boy pleaded, just a step below his unbeatable puppy eyes. "The Maheswarans want to know more about gem stuff. If we don't tell them, they won't trust is to train Connie anymore."

Pearl ceded, as she understood how her pupil would feel.

"Okay, Steven." The witch said. "I'll tell them about gem stuff."

The small imp grinned broadly, exposing his sharp teeth to her.

"But..." She interjected. "I won't be telling them the..." She made the quotation sign with her slender fingers. "... _'Steven' version_."

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because Connie's parents are adults, and they can handle the war stuff better than certain 8 year-old I used to know." She said while poking Steven's horns, eliciting a giggle from the boy.

"Okay, I get it." He said. "But I think that you should tell them about the war and gem classes after everything else."

"Yeah, I think it's for the best." She said as an ominous wind howled from the temple's direction.

Shadows gathered above the portal into a stream, three silhouettes of light forming inside of it alongside a voice that appeared to be arguing with them.

One of the silhouettes was blue in color and was taller than the other two. The next silhouette was green, its triangular head glowed more than its body. The remaining silhouette was purple, giving away that Amethyst was behind it.

"-till doesn't explain why the pages don't get wet, Lapis." The purple gargoyle said.

"I control water, Amethyst." Lapis said. "And the moisture of the paper it's still water."

"It's Simple magic, Amethyst." Peridot said next to her. "The skin of the bodies of water elementals such as Lapis, acts like an impermeable membrane, allowing them to touch stuff without actually getting them wet."

"And peridots such as you act like what? Night lamps?" The gargoyle said smirking.

Peridot's head glowed harder, partly in rage and partly in embarrassment.

"She got you there, Peridot." Lapis said, giggling at Amethyst's comment.

The bright gem was about to say something at them, when Steven talked to them.

"Hey guys!" Steven said at his friends while Pearl didn't wanted to even ask what they were arguing.

"Oh, Hey, Steven." The water gem said, stepping out of the portal. "We didn't saw you there."

Lapis was almost as tall as Pearl, being a little bit shorter than her. Her entire body was made entirely out of blue, translucent water, the teardrop-shaped gemstone on her back was visible through her chest and belly. The body's dense shape was anatomically correct, mimicking the joints of her fingers and extremities perfectly. Even though it was solid, small droplets of her body were prone to drift from her construct. Her royal blue _'hair'_ was rather messy, to the point where droplets of it floated near to it. Her expression was kind of tired, as her eyes' white fluids were constantly leaking from them into her face. A set of really long black ribbons were her only clothing; The black strips acted like shorts and a top, while the remaining cloth half-covered her extremities.

"Can we know what were you talking about?" The witch asked, seating on the stool next to Steven.

"I lent Lapis my Pretty hairstyler book the other day." Amethyst said. "And when I went to tell these two that we're leaving by three, I asked her about it." She took a small pause to take a breath. "Guess what happened when I asked her where it was." 

"She, lost it?" Pearl asked tentatively.

"No!" The gargoyle answered, her lizard tail moving in anger. "She returned it to me!"

Steven and Pearl shared a look.

"And the problem here is?" The slender gem said.

"That she gave it back to me like This!" She pointed at the almost-new magazine.

The witch stared at the book confusingly, not knowing what to look for.

"Can any of you two explain what's the deal with the magazine?" Pearl asked the pair of monsters who came with the gargoyle.

"She wants to know why it's not wet." Lapis cleared her doubts.

"We already explained her but she doesn't get it!" Peridot said. "She's been like this since an hour ago!"

"That means that you're really bad explaining stuff." Amethyst teased the green demon, causing her head to glow intensely.

Peridot bared her sharp teeth at the gargoyle before lunging at her. She was restrained by one of Lapis' arms holding her from her cape.

The green gem was the smallest (and newest) of the Crystal gems; She was a demon of an unknown type. She wore a gray shirt and a pair of brown shorts held on their place by suspenders. A white tie with a yellow diamond emblem was around the collar of her shirt. A tattered, black cape with yellow diamond symbols draped over shoulders. Her stitched together hands sported black, fingerless gloves exposing her sharp nails. Her boots were black with dark-yellow points. Her head glowed with a green light, its intensity changed according to her feelings. Her blonde hair, shaped like a messy triangle, dimmed the light of her head alongside the mask that covered her face. The mask was black in color and was shaped like a pumpkin. A triangle-shaped gemstone rested on her forehead.

"Relax, Peri." Amethyst said. "I was just playing with you."

The green gem growled in annoyance before the blue gem released her grip.

"So... What are we going to do, Steven?" Lapis changed the subject.

"We're going to go to a lake house with Connie's parents for an entire weekend." He said before finishing the last portion of his pie.

"Why?" Lapis asked.

"Because the Maheswarans invited us." He said. "I guess that they wanted to know more about us, since Connie spends all of her time here with me."

"You think that they're scared from us?" The body of water asked.

"No." A deep voice said from the cave portion of the house. Its owner's eyes shone through the shadows of the room. "They care about her daughter, and they need to know about the world she's living in."

"Garnet!" Pearl said worriedly. "What're you doing outside the temple!?"

"We're about to leave to Greg's car wash." She said as she stepped out of the dark corner. "And I need Pearl's sunscreen to go outside."

Pearl blushed a bit at the comment.

"Sorry." The witch said before pulling out a vial out of her gemstone. "I forgot to leave some in my lab."

She threw the vial towards Garnet, who opened it and gulped down its deep-blue contents. The action caused a white aura to appear over her figure briefly.

"What was that?" Peridot asked confused.

"G's a vampire werewolf." Amethyst half-explained from the sofa. "She doesn't get along with the sun."

"But I remember her being with us outside when we were building the drill!" The green demon said.

"That's because of this." Pearl answered as she pulled another vial from her gem. "This is a potion of my devising-" 

"I call it 'sunscreen'" Steven added, interrupting the witch as well.

"This _'sunscreen'_ as Steven calls it." Pearl continued. "Makes it possible for Garnet to be under direct sunlight without causing any damage to her body."

She stored the vial in her gemstone.

"Its effects last around eight hours." Garnet said before stepping out of the cave. "Enough time to reach the lake house and place the barriers."

"And have a lighthearted dinner with Connie and her parents!" Steven added.

"And what's the plan then?" Lapis asked before joining the gargoyle on the couch.

"I told you already, Lapis." The young demon said. "We're going to spend a nice quality time with the Maheswarans in the wilderness, Introduce you guys to them and give them the specifics about some gem stuff Connie wants them to know."

Oddly enough, his phone rung again. He pulled out the device out of his pocket and saw Connie's number in the display.

"Speaking of which. I need you to stay quiet for a minute." He asked them gently.

He cleared his throat before answering.

"Hey Connie!" He said. "What's up?"

"Steven? Where are you?" The girl asked through the speaker.

"I'm in the temple with the gems." He said. "Why you asking?"

"We're about to reach Beach City." She said, taking Steven by surprise. "We'll be there in a few moments."

Mr. Maheswaran's voice was heard from the other side of the line. Steven couldn't make out what the man said.

"Okay." She told her father before returning to the boy. "Steven, I'll explain you this later, be ready." 

She hung up quickly, leaving Steven in a shocked State.

"What she told you?" Pearl asked him.

"WE NEED TO GO, NOW!" He said panicked.


	4. Roadtrip

Steven was moving as fast as he could around the house, gathering the few stuff that he yet had to take before leaving.

The gems, on the other hand, were looking at the small imp racing through the living room.

"Do we have to do anything?" Lapis asked to the others.

Garnet shrugged in response.

After what felt like an eternity for him, Steven was carrying his cheeseburger backpack and his hotdog duffel bag; He had stored a few stuff he had planned to give to the Maheswarans as a present in the latter.

"Guys! When I said that we had to go, I was being serious!" Steven told them as he dragged Amethyst out of the couch.

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Everyone was running towards the business at Steven's speed (except for Lapis, who spread a pair of water wings from her construct and flew next to them).

Outside the building was a middle aged man. He was loading some stuff into his van when he noticed the group of monsters running towards him.

"Steven!" The man said unfazed by the monsters coming towards him. "Where's the fire, kiddo?"

"Nowhere, Dad." The young demon said between pants. "Connie's parents are going to pick us up here."

"Yeah, I know." The man said. " You told me that like two hours ago."

"No!" The boy said. "I meant that they're gonna be here to pick us up, NOW!"

The man's laid-back attitude vanished instantly, silently thanking himself for readying everything up beforehand.

"Oh boy." He said, looking at the clothes he was wearing during that warm morning: a white tank top, a pair of ripped shorts and sandals (The perfect clothes for a warm, autumn morning). "I think that I should change my clothes." He opened the van's backdoor. "These aren't exactly the best clothes for meeting the Maheswarans."

He slammed the door before hurrying to look for the perfect outfit for the rather perfectionist family. His son shouted from outside.

"Hurry up, Dad! They might be here anytime soon!"

And true to his word, the Maheswarans' white vehicle came into the demon's field of vision as it turned around a corner on Waterman street.

The car ran down the street before halting in front of the business. Its doors opened when the engine stopped.

The first person to get off the car was a young girl, followed up by her mother and father.

"Connie!" Steven said as he waved his hand at his friend, any kind of anxiety disappeared instantly when he saw her.

"Steven!" She said as she ran into him tackling the boy into a hug.

Unlike Greg, Connie was dressed up for the upcoming cold of autumn's evenings: She wore a brown cardigan over a teal T-shirt, and a pair of jeans with sneakers. Her long, dark hair waved over her back, framing her beautiful face.

"Sorry for rushing you guys up..." Connie apologized. "It turns out that highways are going to close earlier today for some reason, and you know how cautious my mom can be."

"Nah, it's okay." Steven said reassuringly. "We were ready to leave at any moment."

At that exact moment, Greg shouted from inside the van.

"WHERE DID I LEFT THAT SHIRT?!" 

"I can see how ready you were." She teased him.

He gave her a silly smile in response, ignoring the pair of adults who were walking towards them.

When he did noticed them, he proceeded to greet them as Connie told him once.

"Hello, Mr. and Dr. Maheswaran." He said, outstretching his arm towards them. 

"Hello, Steven." The doctor said before shaking her hand with him, her husband did the same. "How have you been?"

"Oh, you know... Just saving the world and stuff like that." He answered.

"I see..." The woman said. "Where is your father?"

A loud clang was heard from inside the van.

"Grooming himself, ma'am." Steven said nervously.

"Thank you, Steven. And sorry for showing up earlier." She said. "They said on TV that the highway were going to use is particularly dangerous on these days."

Steven looked at her with a curious expression.

"Why?" He asked.

"There have been... A couple of incidents near the area." She half explained. "But enough of that. Where are your guardians?"

"They're alongside the carwash." He said. "You wanna go to talk to them?"

"Yes, please." The doctor said before heading towards the gems.

Her husband was about to follow her, stopping for a moment while looking at Steven. 

"Nice cape." The man complimented Steven's outfit.

"Thank you, sir." The boy said before joining the gems, Connie was walking by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave kudos if you think this was good and leave a comment if you have any critics!


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